San Francisco 49ers welcome comforts of home

SAN FRANCISCO -- Candlestick Park, for all its flaws and imminent death sentence, will be a welcome sight for the 49ers.

San Francisco plays its next three games at home and five of its next six, starting with Sunday's visit by the Buffalo Bills.

That ought to cure to whatever homesickness the 49ers felt during their recent trip abroad, a 10-day journey that began with a humbling, 24-13 loss at Minnesota and ended last Sunday in triumphant fashion with a 34-0 trouncing of the host New York Jets.

"There's no place like home," linebacker Patrick Willis said last week with a wide smile -- and without clicking together his red cleats.

The 49ers haven't lost at Candlestick in regulation since Nov. 21, 2010, a 21-0 shutout by the Tampa Bay Buccaneers. It took overtime for the 49ers to fall twice there last season: the home opener against the Dallas Cowboys and the NFC Championship game against the New York Giants.

The Bills might not recognize the remodeling the 49ers have done -- franchisewise, at least -- since their last visit to Candlestick Park, when the visitors posted a 41-7 rout in the penultimate game of the 49ers' rock-bottom, 2004 season.

That Bills-49ers matchup might have been Candlestick's least attended game during a sellout streak that began in 1981. The 49ers were wrapping up a 2-14 record and the No. 1 overall pick in the 2005 draft.

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Quarterback Alex Smith, the product of that top pick, personifies the 49ers' 10-1 run at Candlestick since Dec. 12, 2010. Smith has produced 19 touchdown passes, three interceptions and a passer rating of 103.8 that ranks fourth in the league over that span.

The 49ers, having played three of their first four on the road this season, face a delicate balance in terms of mindset.

"You've done some hard things as it relates to travel," coach Jim Harbaugh said. "But you've still got to have that edge, that saltiness, that attitude to go fight."

The 49ers (3-1) will face a Bills team that fell to 2-2 last Sunday, when they allowed 45 second-half points in a 52-28 loss to the New England Patriots. While the Bills look generous, so does Candlestick, where the 49ers are averaging 29.6 points per game over the past 11 home games.

"We've got some of the best fans in the NFL," Willis said. "They get it going, and we love it.

"We love that feeling now as opposed to what it used to feel like."

It's been a rare feeling this season. The 49ers have played at home once, a 27-19 win in prime time against the Detroit Lions on Sept. 16.

Defensive dominance has become as common as swirling winds at Candlestick. The 49ers have not allowed a rushing touchdown in 11 consecutive home games, the league's longest active streak.

Defensive coordinator Vic Fangio said crowd noise helps fuel the 49ers' home-field advantage, though it's "a little overrated." Fangio referenced his tenure with the New Orleans Saints (1986-94), and although the Louisiana Superdome could be deafening, he recalled his defense having just as many sacks on the road.

"I don't think our stadium gets as loud as a dome stadium does, just because of the obvious reasons," Fangio said of Candlestick. "And our stadium is a little more spread out. It's not right on top of you."

After the Bills' visit, the New York Giants return to the scene of their NFC Championship. Four nights later, on Oct. 18, the 49ers host the Seattle Seahawks on "Thursday Night Football."

On Oct. 29, the 49ers play Arizona on "Monday Night Football" in their only away game until Thanksgiving weekend, when they play at New Orleans on Nov. 25. In between those games are the Nov. 4 bye and consecutive home games against the St. Louis Rams (Nov. 11) and Chicago Bears (Nov. 19).

"We're very hopeful and very determined to take advantage of that," Harbaugh said.

The Bills haven't won on the West Coast since their 2004 rout of the 49ers, losing three games in blowout fashion: 38-17 in Oakland (2005), 48-10 in San Diego (2005), 37-10 in San Diego (2011).

After facing the 49ers, the Bills will spend the week practicing at Arizona State before visiting the Cardinals. Bills quarterback Ryan Fitzpatrick told the Buffalo News: "This is a stretch of games where we'll really figure out what kind of team this is."